A Different Sort of Betrayal
by HeirtotheMarauders93
Summary: Harry Potter, wrongly imprisoned for murdering Bill Weasley and Rubeus Hagrid, is thrown into Azkaban to rot after his sham of a trial. Nearly five years later, evidence from a certain captured rat releases Harry from Azkaban. Will he forgive those...
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **A Different Sort of Betrayal

**Author:** HeirtotheMarauders93

**Story Summary:** Harry Potter, wrongly imprisoned for murdering Bill Weasley and Rubeus Hagrid, is thrown into Azkaban to rot after his sham of a trial. Nearly five years later, evidence from a certain captured rat releases Harry from Azkaban. Will he forgive those that betrayed him, or will he turn to the man he once sworn to defeat.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series.

Chapter 1:

It began a cold December morning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Harry Potter's fifth year. Harry Potter had woken from his warm and rather comfortable four-poster bed and yawned, stretching his tightened muscles. He leaned back into the comforts of his pillows, but could not go back to sleep. He had another dream of the looming dark corridor and another failure at going through the door at the end. Harry processed the corridor, it seemed strangely familiar, but he could not exactly pin point where he had seen it before. Shrugging nonchalantly, Harry quietly snuck out of his bed, not waking his best friend, Ron Weasley, and headed down to the commons where a house-elf was lighting the fireplace with a snap of its fingers. _It must be early in the morning if a house-elf is just now lighting the fireplace,_ Harry mused. Harry took a closer look at the house-elf and noticed the odd uniform of clothing it was wearing. It also seemed to be wearing several wooly bladders around its long, pointed ears. Harry smiled to himself and said clearly,

"Good morning, Dobby." Dobby jumped, for he appeared quite busy at the fireplace, and he turned around and squeaked excitedly,

"Harry Potter, sir." Harry felt the wind knocked out of his lungs and the excited house-elf lunged at him and hugged him tightly around the middle of his waist. "Dobby hopes that he didn't wake Harry Potter up sir." Dobby said, looking up from Harry's waist. Harry, trying to catch his breath, motioned for Dobby to unclench him so that he could talk better. Dobby let go, smiling sheepishly,

"Dobby apologizes sir. It's just that Dobby is not having many friends besides Harry Potter and Harry Potter's friends, sir." Harry cocked his head to the side and asked,

"Why not, Dobby?" Dobby shrugged, as though he did not care, and said,

"The other house-elfs thinks that Dobby is making a bad name for all house-elfs worldwide, sir, because he is accepting pay for his work and is wearing clothes." Harry frowned at his elf friend and said,

"Well, don't worry about them, Dobby. If they can't accept you for who you are, they are just missing out a potentially great friend." Tears sprung to Dobby's already watery tennis-ball sized green eyes and he flung himself at Harry again before stepping back and saying,

"Thank you Harry Potter sir, but Dobby is needing back in the Kitchens to prepare breakfast. Will Dobby be seeing Harry Potter around anytime soon?" Harry grinned and said,

"Count on it." With a loud crack, Dobby disappeared and Harry sat in one of the more comfortable squashy armchairs around the fireplace. And thinking about corridors and locked doors, Harry nodded off in his own world.

When Harry had woken up about three hours later, he found the common room just as empty as it was when he had first arrived there. Wondering where everyone else was, Harry stood walked up the boys staircase and entered their dormitory to find it empty. _This is weird,_ Harry thought to himself as he went to his trunk and pulled out the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry said, tapping the Map with the tip of his wand. He waited as lines drew themselves around the Map and formed into Hogwarts. Harry searched the Great Hall, thinking that was where Ron would be and found a dot labeled Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger sitting together at the end of a table where only fourteen people sat together, Dumbledore and the other teachers, including Bill Weasley who had taken the Defense Against the Dark Arts position after Dolores Umbridge had been sent back to the Ministry after nearly being trampled by a set of fireworks the Weasley twins, Fred and George, had set upon her, at the other end of the table and a few of the other students sat in the middle. _Of course, it's the Holidays, how could I have forgotten? _Harry thought to himself.

Harry slipped out of his night clothing and pulled on the traditional Hogwarts robes with the Gryffindor crest on it. He tidied himself up a bit in the restroom and grinned at himself in the mirror and ran down the stairs two at a time, pocketing the Map at the same time. He burst out of the portrait hole and ran where halfway he met Bill and Hagrid putting up Christmas decorations.

"Hi Hagrid, Bill." Harry said stopping in front of them. Hagrid grinned down at him while Bill shook Harry's hand formally. "Need any help?"

"As a matter of fact," Bill started before he keeled over and landed face first on the hard floor, obviously Stunned. Hagrid turned around, hearing the commotion, turned around to find a glassy eyed Harry pointing his wand at his heart.

"Jus' wha' you think yer doin' Harry?" The giant asked angrily, assessing the situation. Harry had obviously Stunned Bill and was about to finish him off before he turned and caught him.

"What my master wills me to do." Harry said in a monotonous voice. He continued to hold his wand pointed at Hagrid's chest. Hagrid started forward at a speed that would have surprised many because of his enormous size.

"_Avada Kedavra."_ Harry said coldly, feeling something inside him rip in half. The green light enveloped the giant and he fell, his dead eyes no longer seeing. His mind protested, but to no avail, he pointed his wand upon the fallen Weasley. _"Ennervate."_ Bill slowly stirred and reached for his wand only to have his head kicked to the ground by someone's foot. _"Expelliarmus." _Bill's wand flew to Harry's hands and he tossed it carelessly aside as he cast the Cruciatus Curse on Bill. He heard footsteps and the voice of his best friends and took the Curse off of Bill.

"Ron, help." Bill croaked as loud as he could. The footsteps hurried and Hermione and Ron rounded the corner, running fast as they could. They looked flabbergasted as Harry stood over Bill, who was slowly trying to crawl away from him.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron asked slowly and uncertainly. A mad sort of grin and a strange glint appeared in Harry's face as he looked from Ron to his brother. He raised he wand and pointed it at Bill's weak form and said in a cold voice,

"_Avada Kedavra."_ The green light seemed to take millennia to hit Bill who tried desperately to move out of the deathly green light. WHACK. Ron's fist connected with Harry's jaw, and Harry stumbled backwards. He raised his wand and pointed it at Ron's chest; Ron froze.

"You wouldn't." Ron whispered, fear in his eyes. Hermione, meanwhile, had run to get Dumbledore. Harry grinned, maniacal, and said,

"Try me, Weasley. I've noticed how you've hated being my shadow. Hated my fame and wealth. Hated who I was because you are a nobody. You should be thanking me, Weasley. For one less brother whose shadow you have to stand in to be noticed by your _mummy._" Harry said the last word tauntingly, and it worked, for Ron jumped at Harry again, intending to hit him.

"_Crucio."_ Rom collapsed on the ground screaming just as someone shouted,

"_Expulso." _The silver jet of light hit Harry in the chest, and he was blasted backwards into the wall behind him. The last thought he had before he slipped out of consciousness was, _what have I done._ And the last thing he noticed was a rat with a silver paw scurrying around the corner.

***

Harry woke bound to a chair in an extremely bright interrogating room. He first thought was, _Wormtail._ He tried to break the bindings on the chair, but was rewarded with an alarm going off and several Aurors bursting into the room with their wands raised. He stopped trying to get out and waited for one of the Aurors to speak. A tall, black Auror that Harry knew was Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped forward with seemed to be disappointment in his eyes said,

"Harry James Potter. You are hereby arrested for the murder of Rubeus Hagrid and Bill Weasley and three counts of the Use of the Unforgivable Curses on a Human Being. You will be detained in Azkaban until your formal hearing on January 1st. Anything you say can will be used during your interrogation. You have the option of not saying anything until your hearing, but all actions will be noted carefully and will be examined thoroughly. Do you have anything to say for yourself? Any questions?" Kingsley met Harry's eyes and shook his head a quarter of an inch. Harry shook his head and the chair binding him released him. He stood shakily and one of the Aurors said,

"_Incarcerous._ Sorry kid, Ministry regulations. _Stupefy." _Kingsley turned to the Auror and said,

"That wasn't necessary, Dawlish." Dawlish shrugged and said,

"I'm not here to give the kid a pat on the back for murdering someone, Kingsley."

***

Harry awoke for the second time that day in a damp, cold cell on a twin-sized bed with yellowing sheets. There were bars on the window and dirt and filth caked the sides of the walls. There was a hole that Harry assumed was the restroom and a bucket full of clean, fresh water and a ladle to scoop it out with. _Azkaban isn't as bad as they say it is,_ Harry thought and he picked up a tray of food that appeared on the floor. He sat back on his bed just as a Dementor glided by. _Never mind, _Harry thought as his mother's screams rang in his ears. It was short-lived however as the Dementor just glided on without stopping. Harry ate his food, which turned out to be overcooked army rations. He lay back on his bed and began to think. _Where was everyone? Will anyone be visiting? Ron must hate me now. Someone has to capture Pettigrew. What does Sirius think of me now? Surely he knows it has to be a set up. I can't believe Hagrid and Bill are really gone. This is all my fault._ Harry continued this way of thinking until he dozed off on the musty sheets, wondering how his trial would turn out.

***

The trial, it turned out, was a total sham. Harry was Silenced and was not permitted to talk during the duration of the trial. The evidence was presented and that was that. Harry was sentenced three life sentences in Azkaban, as he was too young to be given the Dementor's Kiss. After the trial, he was given visitation for thirty minutes and that was it. Dumbledore was the first to come, and he expressed his disappointment in Harry. Remus was next, and the look on his face told Harry he could not believe what he had done. He told him that Sirius and himself were extremely disappointed in him and that he deserved to rot in Azkaban and later in Hell. Remus told him that Sirius said he did not deserve to be Lily and James's son and they were probably turning in their graves right now. He then said that he wished Harry was not born because then, at least, Lily and James would have lived. Harry could do nothing but silently cry, as they had not released the Silencing Spell on him. Last were Ron and Hermione. Ron had a look of fury in his eyes as he slowly turned at him. Hermione, too, was looking at Harry furiously. Ron punched Harry and told him that he wished he had never met him and that after all his family had done for him this was how he pay them back. Hermione slapped Harry too and said that she knew that he would join Voldemort and that he would rot in Hell for what he had done.

***

**Author's Note:** Well here it is, my first fanfic. Please be sure to Review and tell me what you think so far. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **A Different Sort of Betrayal

**Author:** HeirtotheMarauders93

**Story Summary:** Harry Potter, wrongly imprisoned for murdering Bill Weasley and Rubeus Hagrid, is thrown into Azkaban to rot after his sham of a trial. Nearly five years later, evidence from a certain captured rat releases Harry from Azkaban. Will he forgive those that betrayed him, or will he turn to the man he once sworn to defeat.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series.

**Chapter 2:**

Harry Potter was far from catatonic in his five years in Azkaban. In fact, he almost embraced his time there. For once in his life he did not have the weight of the world upon his shoulders. For once, he did not have to make appearances in crowds, people who only looked to him as their only hope. Almost. The first three years of Azkaban had been hell on earth for the young wizard. Deprived of the normal standard of food that Hogwarts and Mrs. Weasley had supplied him, he became a little more than a bag of bones. The Dementors, it seemed, had now joined Voldemort, as he was now openly showing himself in public since Harry had been put in Azkaban. Perhaps Voldemort had hoped that many of his supporters would become sane again to revolt in the abhorrence of a castle. If that was the case, then Voldemort had been surely wrong. For weeks after the Dementors took their leave, the Ministry had the Illusion Curse placed upon the prison to mimic the effects of the Dementors; it work magnificently.

For years, Harry had struggled to throw the effects of the Illusion Curse, but every time it was activated, it could not be thrown. For three years straight, Harry had to endure every second of the bone-chilling agony and visions of his mother and father's death the Illusion Curse brought upon him. He sat in his security-enhanced cell rocking himself back and forth as Ministry guards walked by with smirks on their faces, taunting him. Then, one day, just as plain as the one he sat in now, mulling over his thoughts, they simply ceased to affect him. No more worries, no more pain, and the best thing of all, a clear conscious. He could finally think rationally, but in his mind, he still felt the lingering effects of the Illusion Curse, taunting him with its ever-present presence. Once Harry's mind was finally clear, he began to work out. Everyday between meals he would work out. Then, taking thirty minutes out of his harsh routine, he would think about all the magic he had learned in his five years duration in the Wizarding World. Harry had to admit, he was now as fit as he ever was; though he was dirty and in need of a dire bath.

Harry often sat for long periods of time wondering when they were going to find Pettigrew. Every time he thought about that little filth he got angry. Not only angry with Pettigrew, but also angry with himself for not being able to throw off the Imperius Curse. Angry for not being prepared, knowing that there were possibly a multitude wizards and creatures that wanted him dead or put out of the action. He would almost touch the subject of his former friends, but every time he thought of them, whatever defense mechanism his brain had created to ward the effects of the Illusion Curse would shatter, taking several hours to repair and leaving Harry in torment and agony.

BOOM. Harry turned his head so fast that his neck cricked toward the source of the noise. He immediately started rocking back and forth, as he normally would do when he heard someone approaching his cell. He would not put it past the Ministry guards to hurt him more if they thought he were sane enough to put up a good fight. The deep, reverberating footsteps stopped in front of Harry's cell and a drawling voice that Harry knew only so well called out to him,

"Quit your sniveling and get up Potter. I'm here to take you to the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters." The drawling voice made Harry freeze, and he looked up unbelievingly at his nemesis, Draco Malfoy. _Damnit. Of all the people they send me, it had to be the one who hated me the most. Bloody bastards._

"Malfoy?" Harry croaked; his voice was rusty for not using it for five years. Draco smirked at Harry and said,

"Not as insane as many would believe, eh, Potter?" Harry continued to look incredulously at Draco before spitting,

"I'm not going anywhere with you. What are you doing here anyway? And what do you mean you're _taking_ me to the Order of the Phoenix?" Draco slightly puffed out his chest, a little light glinting off his shiny Auror's badge. Next to it was silver and gold pin of a phoenix, its minuscule wings open wide and its Flame covering half of its body. Harry mentally cursed.

"Voldemort must have already taken over then, if they're making people like you Aurors and Order members. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if they did hire filth like you, Malfoy." Draco looked slightly taken aback before leaning toward Harry and saying in a quiet, dangerous voice,

"Since you so clearly do not know the truth, _Potter_, I am here to retrieve you from Azkaban. They have found a certain rat that should have been dead a long time ago. Unless you would rather stay here." Draco said, nodding around the filthy room that Harry had called home for five years. Harry had again frozen, his mind blank.

"W-what did you say?"

"You heard me Potter," Draco said, straightening back up and brushing nonexistent wrinkles from the silky fabric of the Auror's robes, "They have captured Pettigrew and have gained substantial evidence leading to your release from Azkaban and his imprisonment. Anything else you have to say to waste my time?" Harry was bursting with a million questions, but the one question kept popping up in his mind first,

"H-how?" Draco sneered and said,

"Are you that incoherent that you cannot finish your own question. How _what?_" Harry's temper nearly flared but he reined it in and asked,

"How did they catch Pettigrew?"

"I don't think that's my story to tell Potter. Perhaps you should ask Severus. I should also mention that your godfather, Black, has been exonerated as well." Draco said, watching Harry's reaction closely. Harry, who had just stood and brushed his dirty robes off, froze, a cold fury in his eyes. Harry looked up at Draco, who had unknowingly took a step back from Harry, and said in a whisper that whispered death and bad omens,

"I couldn't care less about my precious _godfather_. That bastard is nothing to me. None of them are." Draco quickly blanked his face and threw up his Occlumency shields just to be safe. You could not be more careful around Potter.

***

Draco and Harry had taken the long journey from the innards of Azkaban to the top of the fortress. The large fortress was made like a maze. At every corner there was a guard who had his own security booth and checkout point. At each of these, Draco had to flash his pin, which was scanned with a touch of the guard's wand before allowed clearance to move on to the next checkpoint. During this time, Harry silently fumed and did not talk during the walk. Draco, who would not willingly admit it, expected Harry to be more excited to see his 'friends' than he was. Though Draco could not blame him, friends did not turn on each other's backs and stab them multiple times. Even though Draco was a Slytherin, even he knew the value of trust and dependence one could put on a good friend.

Once they crossed the stormy sea that separated Azkaban from land, Harry felt a subtle change. Just a little, but it was enough. His magic. They had just crossed the Magic Suppression Wards that were set up around Azkaban. It really felt the same as it did five years ago except something was different. Harry could not pinpoint the exact problem, but his magic seemed to flare inside him, almost as if it wished to burst out of him. Draco looked over at Harry, who looked a little green and said,

"Sorry, should've warned about the bloody wards. Forget every time." Draco muttered to himself. Harry looked at Draco oddly, but did not comment. Draco grabbed Harry's arm and said,

"Prepare yourself." Harry felt Draco's arm twist away from him and he felt as he was being pulled through a noodle, whose sides were collapsing on him as he journeyed through to the end of it. Just as he felt as if he could not take it any more, Harry found himself outside Number 12 Grimmauld Place. And standing in front of the stairs was a silently weeping Sirius.

"Harry…"

***

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the smaller length chapter and the cliffhanger, but I promise I'll make it up to you in the next chapter. I tried to describe Azkaban's innards a little for the reader's to try to understand how hard it was for Sirius to escape as I'm sure that he would be on the very bottom of the fortress. Try to understand that it was a lot for Sirius back then since the Dementor's were still under Ministry control and there was no need for guards every corner of the fortress.

After this story, I will be posting five one-shots, one for each of Harry's years in Azkaban. They will most likely be about 1500+ words long and will describe his feelings and thoughts in a little more detail than in this story.

Be sure to Review. Thank you.


	3. POLL ALERT

POLL ALERT!!!

BE SURE TO VOTE ON WHICH SIDE HARRY WILL BE ON IN THIS STORY. POLL CAN BE FOUND ON MY PROFILE PAGE. THANK YOU.


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